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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. prune — to trim
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. prune — to trim
  7. capital — a city
  8. hand — help
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. last — finally
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. hand — in cards
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. wound — an injury
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wound — an injury
  24. branch — a division

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com